Similarly, in extreme Arctic, sub-arctic or high-altitude climates, communities can get fresh greens and vegetables year round, with controlled environment agriculture, regardless of freezing temperatures or short growing seasons. These vegetables can be exceptionally difficult to grow in these conditions otherwise.
Enclosed structures can shield crops from unseasonal frosts, heavy storms and climate disruptions too, which can considerably affect yields by causing diseases.
In other cases, such as isolated environments like remote island nations, military bases and research stations in inhospitable conditions, supply chains may be fragile, unreliable and expensive.
As such, controlled environment agriculture can help ensure a steady supply of fresh vegetables and produce in these conditions.
“Where these technologies outperform conventional agriculture is in high-value, perishable crops such as leafy greens, herbs, microgreens, and some greenhouse vegetables, where year-round, local, predictable production matters,” Kaczmarek said.
He added: “These systems also matter where skilled growers are scarce, because automation can compensate for labour and expertise constraints.”
Why Terrestrial Implementation Remains Tricky
One of the biggest challenges in implementing space farming technologies like controlled environment agriculture on Earth is the highly sophisticated technology and extensive setup needed.
For example, NASA’s Advanced Plant Habitat (APH) on the ISS uses around 180 sensors to independently monitor and regulate water, temperature and air composition without needing direct crew intervention.
While the end result may be a highly autonomous system, the initial capital expenditures remain extremely high, which could be a barrier for several developing nations which are facing the worst of climate change.
Controlled environment agriculture can also consume enormous quantities of
energy, due to heavy reliance on artificial LED lighting and climate control, which can run for most of the day. This can drive up both carbon footprints and utility bills.
As such, they may also be vulnerable to single points of failure in some cases, as power outages, software glitches or irrigation equipment breakdowns could potentially ruin an entire harvest within hours. Backup generators may also not be enough to handle the full scale of operations in such situations.
Operational overheads, such as automated system maintenance and specialized labour may also be high. Not only could these be very expensive, but they could be difficult to consistently source in many regions as well.
Limited crop diversity is another challenge, as most controlled environment agriculture facilities may only be able to grow crops like leafy greens and herbs reliably and economically, rather than staple caloric field crops like rice, wheat and corn.
As such, while space farming technologies can certainly help in certain specialized solutions, it is still a long way away from replacing traditional agriculture.
“I would not present space farming as a universal answer to food insecurity. It is better understood as a resilience layer. It can protect parts of the food system from drought, heat, supply disruption, and land scarcity, but it works best alongside conventional agriculture, not instead of it,” Kaczmarek pointed out.
Where Space Farming Could Make A Difference
While traditional agriculture will not become obsolete anytime soon, space farming technologies like controlled environment agriculture can potentially help significantly in areas which struggle with little water, land and extreme climates.
As Earth faces increasing resource constraints, these technologies could become more valuable in arid, high-altitude and remote regions. However, high capital expenditure and energy use remain significant barriers in more widespread adoption.
“The real market opportunity for the next decade is overwhelmingly on Earth, not in space. Space is the proving ground. Earth is the commercial scale opportunity. The risk is overhyping these systems as a silver bullet. They are powerful tools, but only when matched to the right crops, the right places, and the right energy model,” Kaczmarek noted.
